1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of off-the-road camper vehicles, and more particularly to a novel wheeled trailer having a foldable or collapsible tent apparatus thereon that may be drawn by a motor vehicle over rough terrain or the like.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to employ recreational vehicles and accessories which are intended to travel over rough terrain or off-the-road conditions so that at the arrival at a campsite, the vehicle may be used for sleeping, living or storage purposes. In some instances, it is desirable to use a trailer which has a storage compartment into which a variety of camping equipment can be placed. This apparatus is cumbersome and is not always suited for rough terrain travel and usually requires extensive unloading and tent setup procedures.
Some attempts have been made to provide off-road camping facilities which include motor vehicle drawn trailers that have a tent structure adapted to be raised and lowered in a vertical manner. Such camping facilities do not permit added storage within the trailer and require a separate lid or cover which is either integral with the tent structure or which is completely removable from the trailer when the tent structure is raised. In other instances, a foldable structure connects the roof of the vehicle with its body and permits raising of the roof with respect to the body where it is subsequently supported so that the height of the vehicle body is increased permitting a person to stand inside the vehicle at the campsite.
Problems and difficulties have been encountered when employing such conventional camping apparatus, which stem largely from the fact that the trailer or vehicle itself is not suited for travel over rough terrain and such tent structures are awkward to deploy into a raised position and similarly awkward to lower into a storage condition. Such deployment of the tent structure sometimes requires semi-skilled personnel and many times requires more than one person to assist.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a convenient and simple means for raising and lowering a tent structure with respect to a wheeled trailer on which the structure is carried. Such a trailer must provide storage capability for camping or recreational accessories and provide a means for access into the storage area even when the tent structure is fully deployed.